The United manager has put the emphasis firmly on youth at United – though he did sign Bastian Schweinsteiger last summer – and told Swedish TV station Viasat:

“We need to improve our selection [squad], because when I took over we had six or seven players above 33 years old. Nobody knows that anymore because now they are gone.

“But now we have a much younger team and still we need a much younger selection because we need creative players in attack and also fast players.

“I like [our] own youth players more because they already know the culture in Manchester United, and that is also the philosophy for example of Ajax or Barcelona and also Bayern Munich.”

When asked specifically about Ibrahimovic, Van Gaal said: “I think it is unbelievable what he is doing. I saw the game against Manchester City, and it was a big disappointment for me because he should have scored two times at least.

“Paris Saint-Germain is Zlatan and that is fantastic. When a manager like me, who favours the team [above the individual], is saying that, that is a compliment for him.

“But he’s already 34 and I just spoke about the age [of the players] I let go.”